Features

Sony XBR-X900C Series 4K TV

Sony's slimmest TV ever sports Android TV and the all-new X1 4K image processor

Sony

Sony's all-new X900C series has a lot going for it. It's sleek, slim and powerful, and thanks to the addition of Android TV it's smarter and more versatile than a Sony TV set has ever been before.

It's the slimmest TV Sony has ever released, too, at just 4.9mm at its thinnest point. Which, as Sony was keen to point out during their press event Monday evening, is slimmer than the Xperia Z3 smartphone.

However impressive the gorgeous bezel and ultra-slim chassis may be, it's what's inside of the screen that really shines: the brand-new X1 image processor that utilizes Sony's proprietary Triluminous, X-Reality PRO and X-tended Dynamic Range technology to provide sharper, more colorful images in every frame.

Design

While other panel purveyors are happy to fight over flexible screens and curved designs, Sony's clearly shooting to become the king of one design aspect: thinness. And indeed at .2-inch it certainly takes the cake.

But that's only half the story. It's not razor-thin all the way down the side, and around the midsection balloons out to standard LCD LED panel size.

That said, I've no doubt that the set will sit flush on the wall - I was even told by a Sony rep on the showfloor that it will come with its own special mounting brackets - and its less-than-1-inch bezel will help the X900C seamlessly blend into your wall when it comes to market later this year.

Display

The X900C's display is downright gorgeous. It's not quite OLED quality (the X900C uses Triluminous technology, Sony's proprietary evolution of Quantum Dot), but it's easily one of the sharpest LED sets around.

Breaking down exactly what makes a panel tick is tricky business. And the way to explain the X900C's design is by calling the X1 processor the brains of the operation and the Triluminous display the brawn.

As an image is sent to the X1 processor it looks ahead at what's coming next as well as what passed through just seconds ago. Using this information it can create extra image data to fill in some gaps from the signal. This is especially useful when upconverting from 1080p to 4K.

Sony calls this technology X-Reality PRO, and it works in conjunction with X-tended Dynamic Range to give ultra-sharp image quality from two feet away or twenty.

Android TV

Sony is making a bold move eschewing an in-house OS for something a little more modern:Android 5.0 Lollipop. Every TV in the 800 and 900 series will come equipped with Android TV, which includes the ability to Google Cast and download games, movies, TV shows and music directly from the Google Play Store.

Using a technology consumers are familiar with feels like a good idea, and while it means Sony will have less control over the content on its sets, it won't be wanting for any. Plus, if your one-flick remote decides to fall beneath the cushions, having the ability to control your TV from your phone is pretty handy.

Early verdict

The X900C series is one of four 4K series Sony plans to put out in 2015, leaving only one series in the dust at regular ol' 1080p. It'll come in 55, 65 and a 75-inch versions, the latter of which is dubbed the XBR-X910C.

Other TVs in the X900 series include the XBR-65X930C and 75X940C, 65 and 75-inch TVs that sport huge 30-watt speakers and edge-lit local dimming backlights.

Sony's line-up looks stronger (and more expensive) than last year, but just if it can contend with LG's OLED or Samsung's SUHD TVs remains to be seen.

Intel's Curie module for wearables can fit on a coat button

Intel one-upped itself at CES 2015, announcing a new wearable module that can fit on devices no bigger than a coat button.

Called Curie, the module shown onstage during the company's keynote was only a prototype, but the potential isn't hard to see. CEO Brian Krzanich provided a visual comparison between Edison, announced at last year's CES, and Curie. The difference was remarkable.

"We knew we could do better," Krzanich said of the Edison to Curie evolution. "We knew we could make computing and compute smaller."

Curie is based on Intel's Quark SoC and Krzanich said another dedicated processor can quickly and precisely identify different sporting activities. Wearing Curie during the keynote, Krzanich was able to record how many steps he took during the keynote.

Curie arrives in the second half of the year, and Intel already lined up eyewear company Oakley to make "an intelligent product" aimed at athletes. Other brands, like Basis Peak, the Fossil Group and SMS Audio are part of Intel's Curie push.

Microsoft's device share growth to outpace Apple's through 2016

Microsoft's share of shipped devices will climb slightly this year and pick up some steam in 2016, but Apple's share will grow at a more sluggish pace because of slow-downs in iPhone and iPad, Gartner forecast Monday.

For 2015, Windows' share of the operating systems on all devices -- smartphones, TABLETS, PCs, ultra-lights and hybrids -- will climb to 14.4%, up from 14% last year, Gartner said in new estimates. It claimed that shipments would increase by less than 7%, to 355 million.

As it did several times last year, Gartner downgraded Windows' numbers for 2015 Monday: Its October 2014 forecast pegged Windows at 14.6% by the end of this year.

Gartner projected Windows' share in 2016 would climb to 15.3% on the back of 396.3 million devices shipped, a year-over-year increase of almost 11%, the largest boost since 2013, when PC sales began a prolonged contraction.

Microsoft wasn't the only OS maker whose forecast worsened in Gartner's latest estimate. Apple will also grow its share at a slower tempo than anticipated by several      predictions of 2014.Apple finished 2014 with an operating system share of 11% by virtue of about 262.6 million devices shipped, said Gartner, and should see its slice of the OS pie grow to 11.3% in 2015. That's less than the 11.6% pegged in the October forecast.

The Cupertino, Calif. company's share will reach that 11.6% -- but now not until the end of 2016, Gartner said today.

Those numbers were significantly under the aggressive estimate Gartner touted a year ago; in January 2014, it predicted Apple's share would reach 13.9% in 2014 and a whopping 15.9% in 2016, hot on the heels of Windows.

They also represented year-over-year increases in devices shipped of 6% for this year and 7% for the next, the numbers in marked contrast to the double-digit growth Apple experienced in 2013 and 2014.

What happened to make Gartner change its prognostication tune?

Its analysts cited Apple's two largest-volume lines, the iPad and iPhone, for their change of heart, pointing -- like many other analysts have in 2014 -- to a longer-than-anticipated refresh cycle for APPLE'S TABLET and the belief that Apple will find it tougher showing iPhone growth in the future as it runs low of new markets and has a difficult time topping the iPhone 6 line.

"The challenge for the next iPhone to find significant growth becomes greater [in 2015 and 2016]," Ranjit Atwal, a Gartner analyst, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Gartner's forecast for Android got more bullish than ever on Monday. By the end of 2015, Android will have captured 58.9% of the device share -- up from an October 2014 forecast of 57.4% and a January 2014 bet of just 47.8% -- and will grow even larger in 2016, accounting for 62.9% of all smartphones and TABLETS in two years.

Security

Enterprice Application

Why businesses should not be scared of BYOD

Simply mentioning the idea of bring your own device (BYOD) is enough to make some business owners tremble. Sure, there are many touted benefits to having employees use their own devices at work (greater productivity, more job satisfaction, reduced costs, etc.), but even all those advantages are not enough to convince some companies to adopt it.

BYOD is definitely trending upward, with roughly half of all organisations adopting it, but those that are staying away often feel like their BYOD fears are justified. There is certainly nothing wrong with being concerned about the effect BYOD will have on a business and its employees, but a close examination of the issues will show that businesses shouldn’t be afraid of what BYOD brings to an organisation.

One mistake many companies make when adopting bring your own device is simply allowing workers to use personal devices without adequate preparation. Diving into the pool without checking the water, so to speak, can be quite a shock, and it may end up causing problems for businesses looking to embrace BYOD. For that reason, businesses should do extensive preparation work before officially implementing BYOD policies.

Business leaders should talk with employees and managers to get input on what they expect to get out of BYOD and how they intend to use it. Employees should be trained and taught how to properly use personal devices while remaining productive and keeping data secure. This training should continue periodically even after BYOD has been adopted.

Connected to the issue of preparation is the need to experiment. Allowing BYOD across an entire company may cause problems, which is why it’s a smart move to do a test run first. Running a small trial with a limited number of employees can help businesses and IT departments get a better feel for how the policies will work company-wide. This also gives them the opportunity to work out any problems or hiccups within a smaller area. A test run can also help managers figure out which devices may cause compatibility issues, which may force organisations to limit certain platforms before taking BYOD to the rest of the company.

Without a doubt, one of the chief fears of business leaders related to BYOD is security. For all the convenience using personal mobile devices provides, it also means employees are using potentially unprotected equipment to access sensitive company data. In addition to that, businesses are also worried about devices getting lost or stolen.

Luckily, there are numerous ways organisations can address these concerns. Mobile device management (MDM) is one of the main methods companies use to gain tighter control on devices and ensure greater protection. Through MDM software, IT workers can make sure each device has sufficient antivirus and malware protection.

MDM can also help organisations respond quickly whenever devices go missing by remotely wiping the device of all valuable information which could damage the company if leaked or stolen. This can also be the case when an employee leaves the company, whether voluntarily or through termination. As in all cases, these policies should be clearly communicated to employees before implementing BYOD since many workers feel uncomfortable giving their companies that much control over their devices.

At the same time, some business leaders may worry about overburdening their IT workers. BYOD often represents a much larger workload for IT, which may lead to added pressure and stress. Companies should respond by shifting that burden more on the employees themselves and their managers. While IT can still deal with the technical aspects of BYOD policy, the managers should be the ones who enforce punishments for employees that violate the guidelines set by the organisation. In this way, managers and employees are the ones who are held responsible when things go awry, and IT can concentrate on a more narrowed scope of their duties.

BYOD can help employees get more work done while keeping them happier on the job. BYOD may also help business leaders keep costs down. But all those benefits will be forever out of reach if companies are too frightened by BYOD to use it. While bring your own device is still a relatively new concept that requires more time to perfect, businesses need to see how much it can benefit them and not let these fears paralyse them into inaction. With the right preparation and anticipation, companies will be ready to meet and overcome the challenges while reaping all of the benefits.

Consumerization of IT

IT Management: IT and the consumer

The world of IT and the world of its “customers” often seem so far apart as to be on opposite sides of an insurmountable chasm. Laboring under the weight of mythology and prejudice, the customers see IT professionals as removed from the business, and therefore removed from their priorities and needs. The natural tendency, therefore, is to think that IT professionals don’t understand consumers.

After all, most consumers aren’t “geeky power users” like IT folks—at least that’s how the argument typically goes. In any case, IT professionals don’t interact with business consumers in the same manner as sales and marketing people. In our seemingly infinite and insatiable human capacity to denigrate other professions or groups, we get wrapped up in the unfortunate world of stereotypes.

As a marketing professional, I consider myself far more capable of writing, speaking and strategizing than I do of exercising any level of technological skill. Moreover, as part of a profession that’s always under the gun—something IT and marketing have in common—it’s natural to want to find others to blame or at least to poke fun at.

However, during my more than 15 years of experience dealing with IT professionals, studying the culture of IT and GETTING PAID TO connect companies with their technical audiences, I’ve come to understand just how important IT is to smooth business operations. From this experience, I’ve come to understand how deeply IT professionals understand consumers. I’ve learned more about the consumers of IT from my interactions with IT professionals than from anyone else.

So how did this separation of IT and its customers come to pass? How did this inversion occur? The answers are actually fairly easily derived from basic knowledge of the life of IT professionals. As a group, IT professionals are:

• Leading-edge: Given that IT professionals are charged with making fundamental technology decisions across a variety of scenarios, they are by necessity current and fully up to speed with changes in the dynamic and fast-moving world of technology, devices and systems. Because IT tests so many different technologies in so many different scenarios, IT professionals have to be conversant with all aspects of current technology.
• Flexible: Though IT professionals have a reputation for rigidity, they are in fact quite the opposite. In fact, by nature, IT professionals are tinkerers and problem solvers. Given the infinite scenarios that confront them every day, IT professionals have to approach everything with a considerable degree of flexibility. This empowers them to be empathetic and non-dogmatic. This is also a prerequisite for understanding the ever-changing mores and desires of consumers.
• Collaborative: IT professionals work together to solve problems and share ideas and techniques as a matter of course. One finds very little provincialism in IT.
• Customer-savvy: If we expand our notion of the customer to include the various internal people who are tied to IT through a complex system of service level agreements (SLAs), we come to realize that IT deals with a large number of customers on a daily basis. Furthermore, each of these customers has a unique demand that needs to be fulfilled. As such, IT professionals develop a very strong customer-connection ethic.
• Accountability: Few parts of the organization have as strict an accountability framework as IT. Perhaps law, operations and finance are the only other aspects of an enterprise that would even come close. In this way, IT professionals come to understand that their version of the “customer promise” is absolutely critical to smooth business operations.

If we consider that IT professionals embody these characteristics, let’s shift the discussion to the consumer. Regarding consumers (especially consumers of technology), there are some basic discernible tendencies:

• Consumers always like the absolute latest thing. Given that consumer goods are symbols of status and achievement, as well as sources of entertainment, many tend to want to be on the leading edge of the innovation cycle. A line outside a store when something new is being released is an example of this desire to be “early on” in the cycle. To understand those who want to be leading-edge, organizations have to believe in being leading-edge.
• Consumer sentiments, attitudes, likes and dislikes are ever-changing. In a world of lightning-fast product cycles, consumers have a plethora of choices at any point in a purchase cycle. As such, their desires can quickly change. This requires a great deal of flexibility in the companies that aim to cater to consumer markets.
• Consumers like to share. The massive acceleration of social media is proof that the ritual of sharing is a strong driver of consumer behavior. Particularly in the world of electronic devices, consumers often spend considerable amounts of time sharing deep details with others—a truly cooperative set of gestures.
• Consumers are demanding. They demand quality and accountability from product and services providers. They can quickly “escalate” via feedback and volubility if they’re disappointed.

As you can see, the needs of consumers and the qualities of IT are quite well-aligned. It isn’t simply happenstance that IT professionals understand consumers. It’s built into the very fabric of what they do.

The next time you’re blasted with the notion that you as an IT professional are fundamentally disconnected from your consumers, you need to sit down with your accuser. Explain carefully how, if the entire organization embraced the basic principles by which the IT department runs, everyone would benefit from newfound knowledge. In the end, of course, the consumers would benefit the most.

Networking

2015: The year SDN and NFV go mainstream

In 2015, we expect to see organizations begin to take steps to truly embrace software defined networking (SDN) and its sibling – network functions virtualization (NFV). What other technologies and trends might we see in 2015?

Much of 2014 was spent discussing software-defined networking (SDN), network functions virtualization (NFV), and other “new” networking technologies. We also heard debates about the merits of the Internet of Things and what it will do for the world; we wondered whether the Apple Watch would drive an uptick in smart wearables. 2014 was, to an extent, the year of chatter.

We spent a lot of time defining SDN at forums and forming new standards bodies, but it was not uncommon to hear customers, media, and service providers ask for something tangible amid the discussion of its benefits. After all, where were the mass deployments?

In short, 2014 was the year we strategically moved pieces around the board, but never reached the point of calling “checkmate.”So will 2015 offer more of the same, or will we see winners emerge and the new networking ecosystem take shape?

SDN and NFV to crack ground in the telecommunications market

It’s safe to say the SDN and NFV era is still in its infancy. That will soon change, according to Infonetics Research’s “2014 SDN Strategies: North American Enterprise” survey, which estimates that 87% of U.S. businesses intend to have SDN live in their data centers by 2016. From that perspective, SDN is well on its way.

These deployments have kept the hype somewhat subdued, but this is the most transformative technology we have developed in decades, and 10 years down the line – maybe even sooner – SDN will simply be known as “networking.” In 2015, the technology will begin the journey down that path with the first deployments of SDN in telco networks across the globe. This will be a huge step and could push SDN toward achieving critical mass; we expect to even see SDN deployed on global submarine networks to enable more dynamic services than anything available in the past.We will also begin to see NFV become a technology du jour. There were NFV whispers in 2014, but 2015 promises to put the discussion on the map in the same way SDN was during the past 12 months. Once people see the tangible results of what software can do for a network, it’s only a matter of time before people begin to see the benefits of replacing hardware functions with virtualized equivalents. Infonetics research backs up these predictions in its “Carrier SDN and NFV Hardware and Software Market Size and Forecast” report, which predicts that the NFV and SDN markets will reach $11 billion globally in 2018. Along with the major telcos announcing SDN deployments, we’ll also see initial NFV deployments in high-touch enterprises.

Over the next year, you will see much more widely available 4K content, led in large part by the likes of Netflix, which already has in place platinum plans for those with Ultra HD-capable sets.

In fact, a recent ACG Research report found that the use of 4K streaming video services—which consume three to four times more bandwidth than HDTV—will grow from 2% in 2014 to 12% in 2018. As demand increases, you will see content become available to those willing to pay the premium for it, and with that will come the need to get the network up to par to enable the seamless viewing experience required. The minimum speed required for 4K/Ultra HD is around 16 megabits-per-second, resulting in a greater strain on networks.

Mobile & Wireless

AT&T iPad Case Brings 4G LTE Service to WiFi-Only Devices

iPad users who bought WiFi-only devices can add a 4G-enabled case from AT&T that will allow them to use their iPads even when they are not near a WiFi connection.

If you bought a WiFi-only iPad and have had buyer's remorse because you wish you also had 4G LTE capabilities, you might want to check out the new iPad case from AT&T that will extend 4G connectivity to iPads that don't have built-in 4G systems.

The new AT&T Modio Smartcase, unveiled Jan. 6 at the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, is designed and built to bring 4G LTE services to iPads that came from the factory only with WiFi capabilities. The Modio Smartcase will be available for iPad Air 2, iPad Air, iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini TABLETS for customers of AT&T's network, according to the company.

The first Modio Smartcases will be available for iPad Mini 3, iPad Mini 2 and iPad Mini WiFi models to start, while additional cases for iPad Air 2 and iPad Air WiFi models will be available in the future, the company said. Release dates and pricing have yet to be announced. The cases will allow users to receive 4G LTE connectivity under AT&T Mobile Share plans.

"The AT&T Modio Smartcase gives you the freedom and convenience to connect your WiFi-only tablet to AT&T's blazing fast 4G LTE network," Jeff Bradley, an AT&T Mobility senior vice president for device marketing and developer services, said in a statement. "Secure and easy to set up and use, AT&T is proud to deliver you another industry first, enabling you to stay connected at home or while on-the-go."

The new smartcase includes a built-in 4,600mAh battery that gives users up to 10 hours of continuous use, and also includes a micro SD CARD slot that allows users to give their iPads up to 32GB of additional storage space. Users can also monitor and manage their data usage with the accompanying AT&T Modio Data application that comes with the case, according to AT&T.

Apple's latest iPads were unveiled in October 2014, when the new iPad Air 2, iPad Mini 3 and iPad Mini 2 tablets were announced amid a sea of other desktop and laptop products.

The iPad Air 2 is touted by Apple as the thinnest and most powerful iPad that it has built so far, while the iPad Mini 3 received Touch ID and the iPad Mini 2 received a Retina display.

The iPad Air 2, which is 6.1mm thick and weighs less than a pound, gets an improved Retina display and Apple's new A8X chip, which delivers a 40 percent improvement in CPU performance and 2.5 times the graphics performance of the iPad Air, according to Apple. Delivering up to 10 hours of battery life, the iPad Air 2 also receives the latest Metal graphics technology from iOS 8 as well as the M8 motion coprocessor for greater graphics detail. The tablet, boasting Apple's new Touch ID feature, is available in GOLD, silver or space gray.

Pricing for the iPad Air 2 with WiFi models starts at $499 for the 16GB model, $599 for the 64GB model and $699 for the 128GB model, according to Apple. Pricing for iPad Air 2 with additional cellular capabilities starts at $629 for a 16GB model, $729 for a 64GB model and $829 for a 128GB model. 

Cloud Computing

Looking Back at Top Cloud Computing Stories and Trends of 2014

Is it realistic now to run in the cloud all applications required by a business? Most cloud computing providers use of cloud computing elements in a hybrid combination of public and private cloud to lure customers in 2014.

Apart from the discussion on the management, control, governance and the ecosystem within the cloud, big companies like IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Oracle and others address a variety of issues such as the cost of long-term operation, security, integration with other business applications and implications for the technical architecture and long-term information.

As we are at dawn of the New Year, we have rounded up some top cloud computing news of the year 2014.

Increased adoption of the cloud

As cloud technologies mature, more organizations are deploying cloud services to cut IT costs and optimize operations. Public cloud services spending was at $56.6 billion in 2014 and likely to grow $127 billion in 2018, according to IDC.

AWS has a larger partner ecosystem of SaaS applications, optimization services and plug-ins that are built to run seamlessly on AWS’s cloud. Microsoft is still building and expanding its Azure cloud platform and with SaaS applications as well, its vision is global and it is aggressively expanding into multiple international markets.

Cisco announced plans to build the world a network of larger global Intercloud clouds. Together with strategic partners and service providers, Cisco global Intercloud is being architected for the Internet of Everything. Cisco will optimize the safety, mobility and application monitoring and policy compliance using ACI’s ability to establish a security policy framework that facilitates centralized and programmable control, scalability and segmentation for both public and private cloud environments.

IBM SmartCloud initiative

IBM started the year 2014 with a massive one billion investment in IBM Watson Group, a new division that aims to bring together software, services, research, experts and market forces to accelerate the development and marketing of new classes of applications dedicated to the cognitive informatics and big data.

The goal was to create a team composed of coders, researchers, developers, marketers and industry experts to collaborate with customers and partners to help develop and launch faster products based on the cognitive technology solutions.

IBM’s CEO Ginni Rometty outlined the company’s three strategies for the year 2014 – data, cloud and systems of engagement. The company plans to drive growth and profit through three key initiatives: transforming industries and professions with data, remaking enterprise IT for the cloud and building systems of engagement leveraging enterprise security and data.

During the mid of the year, the blue chip company unveiled 3 billion investment in chip and new technology. Over the next five years, IBM will invest a significant amount of their total revenue in new technologies like non-silicon computer chips, quantum computing research, and computers that mimic the human brain.

The company also introduced the industry’s first intelligent enterprise security portfolio to protect users, data and applications in the cloud. The new security solution expands the potential of using cloud solutions across infrastructure to protect critical business data and applications through advanced analytics – whether they are moving in the company’s data center, in public or private clouds, or between apps on mobile devices.

Microsoft – cloud and mobile come first

After months of research, analysis and interviews with various candidates, Microsoft found a new CEO Satya Nadella at the beginning of the year. A veteran in profitable cloud business at Microsoft, Nadella puts a new mantra for the software company – cloud first, mobile first. Under the leadership of Satya Nadella, Microsoft is trying to maintain the momentum of the company in the growing field of cloud computing as part of its “Cloud First, Mobile First” strategy.

In that regard, Microsoft and rival Salesforce.com joined forces by announcing strategic partnership to integrate Salesforce CRM solution to the Azure cloud platform and the office suite Office 365. Microsoft also made partnership with another rival SAP in the areas of cloud, data, and mobility. As part of the partnership, the two companies are working on a better integration of Business Objects BI tool with the Power of Microsoft.

From innovative technologies and global brands to specialized channel partners, Cisco and Microsoft announced a three-year sales and go-to-market collaboration to transform the traditional datacenter. By providing customers and partners with deeper technology integration, Microsoft will help them transform their datacenters and accelerate the journey to the cloud.

Amazon redefining cloud services

Amazon Web Services (AWS) sets the target to attract more developers to its cloud platform. At the annual AWS re: Invent the company introduced several new services for developers. The important services that Amazon announced is called AWS Lambda, which is a computing service that runs the code developers in response to events and automatically manages computing resources to them, facilitating the creation and management of applications that respond quickly to new information.

In July 2014, Amazon introduced Amazon Cognito, a service that represents a single system for user identification and synchronization of your data, giving developers the ability to create software applications that authenticate users by providers while synchronizing data between different devices of the application.

The cloud leader also introduced a DropBox killer cloud storage service called Zocalo. The service is designed especially for corporate customers that want to save the data and share. Zocalo proposes to implement security policies allowing for example to prevent copying of certain documents to the outside. It can also control and restrict user access, or choose the country in which your data will be stored via a system of regions.

IoT cloud

The Internet of Things (IoT) was a buzzy topic throughout the year 2014. IDC in a study found IoT will grow from $1.3 trillion in 2013 to $3.04 trillion in 2020 with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13%. The early stage of formation of the market, according to analysts IDC, provides an unprecedented opportunity for governments, suppliers and consumers. Sensors, applications and data center will talk more and more in a heterogeneous technology environment, where the evolution will be driven by the ability to experiment and collaborate the most innovative companies.

Gartner also believes that most emerging technologies in IoT are predictive analytics, intelligent robots, holographic displays, quantum computing and the connected home. By 2020, more than 35 percent of the data can be regarded as useful data, thanks to the growth of the data from the Internet of Things. This phenomenon will provide the latest revolutionary way how to interact with customers, shorten the growth cycle, and reduce operating costs and to encourage business opportunities in the value of trillions of dollars.

Looking Back at Top Big Data Stories and Trends of 2014

Big data analytics give enterprises faster access to their own data more than before. The trend of big data remains a high priority for businesses in 2014. Organizations indicate that the top benefits that they have already realized are greater scalability, faster access to infrastructure, higher availability, and faster time to market for applications.

The major forces driving in this market is the constant need among enterprises to upgrade their business processes and enhance performance and efficiency. Also the other forces are continuous rise of unstructured data and demand to provide advanced & predictive analytics.

Let’s look at some of the 2014 top news and trends on big data.

Big data market remains high

Companies providing hardware and software IT solutions are looking forward to gain a better competitive advantage in this growing market, thereby creating sophisticated analytical solutions and data management platforms for the enterprises.

Most of the reports and survey in 2014 found that the big data is changing the conduct of business for companies and executives to get the most from their big data projects and help ease big data challenges. The market for big data is growing and over the next five years big data market is estimated compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.52% from 2013 to 2018 to $46.34 billion by 2018, reports research firm MarketsandMarkets.

According to research firm Gartner, the global market for business intelligence will reach $17 billion by 2016. Gartner sees big data and “Data as a Service” as the growth factors for BI and analytics solutions. More and more companies would take advantage of services that bundle specific data with BI and analytics tools.

Big data main tool Hadoop was driven by the exponential growth in the volume of unstructured data from big data analysis and the ability to access data at high speed with reduced costs compared to traditional RDBMSs. According to a report published by Allied Market Research last year, the worldwide market for Hadoop set to grow to $50.2 billion by 2020 from $2.0 billion in 2013 with a CAGR of 58.2% between 2013 and 2020.

IDC estimates that the volume of digital data globally continues doubling every two years. According to IDC, 90% of all current digital data is unstructured, i.e. from sources that are not in traditional databases, such as videos or image data. IDC also predicts cloud-based big data and analytics will grow three times faster than spending for on-premise solutions.

Research firm Gartner said that big data analytics will play a crucial role in detecting crime and security infractions. By 2016, more than 25 percent of global firms will adopt big data analytics for at least one security and fraud detection use case, up from current eight percent.

New tools to boost big data

Last year, public cloud providers used big data to drive their own operations, get new customers and expand product portfolios. These vendors are also expanding their relationships with consultants and system integrators to provide most effectively managed private cloud implementation.

Microsoft introduced Azure ML, which brings together the capabilities of new analytics tools, powerful algorithms developed for Microsoft products like the Xbox and Bing, and years of machine learning experience into one simple and easy-to-use cloud service. By providing the computing power of their servers, Microsoft promises a strong reduction of costs and increasing efficiency of machine learning, which is already used in many sectors, from search engines to recognize spam from the suggestions of products online at prevention of fraud, from directions to the personal assistant.

The strategy behind Azure ML is different, but the goals are similar to those of Watson. The machine learning was democratized by IBM with Watson. IBM Watson was born with the ambitious goal of defining a new era in the field of cognitive technologies. The platform can be used in all those areas that have a point of contact with the concept of artificial intelligence, taking advantage of the interaction and integration with the potential offered by cloud computing.

IBM also launched a new big data service that is designed to deliver better results and decision-making across the enterprise. Oracle jumped to big data analytics market with the range of updates for Oracle Big Data Analytics, which allows companies to maximize their efforts in the management of information, transforming it into strategic knowledge. During Oracle OpenWorld event, Oracle offered customers the ability to use the framework of big data Hadoop processing in entering the market infrastructure as a service. The Big Data Discovery tool allows you to profile, explore, analyze and find correlations in data from a Hadoop system.

SAP updated its SAP Lumira data visualization software, as well as its SAP InfiniteInsight advanced predictive analytics software. With these tools, companies can better predict which places will visit potential customers as next based on the analysis of historical data. Companies can also combine with new external data sources from all industries advanced analytics to generate new revenue and profit opportunities.

Road ahead

Going forward, big data will have an impact that will change most of the product categories in the field of computer security including solutions, network monitoring, authentication and authorization of users, identity management, fraud detection, and systems of governance, risk and compliance.

Data privacy considerations are often overlooked in the development phase of cloud, IoT and big data solutions, and instead are viewed through a maze of complicated regulations and guidance. Big data will change also the nature of the security controls as conventional firewalls, anti-malware and data loss prevention. In coming years, the tools of data analysis will evolve further to enable a number of advanced predictive capabilities and automated controls in real time.

How cloud adoption trends are driven by strategic imperatives

As this year comes to a close, let's take one last look at the most pervasive cloud computing trends - including increased usage across the different cloud service models, the key business drivers and the impact of agile innovation strategies.

Cloud computing adoption has matured, with 69 percent of survey respondents stating that at least a portion of their computing infrastructure is in the cloud. However, 56 percent of companies are still identifying IT operations that could potentially move to the cloud, according to the latest market study by IDG Enterprise.

Survey respondents believe that business technology is a game changer, and cloud solutions are providing advantages from increasing IT agility (63 percent), IT innovation (61 percent) and improving the ability to access critical business data and digital service applications (58 percent).

Removing the barriers to cloud adoption

That said, IT leaders perspective on barriers to bringing these advantages to fruition differs from their Line of Business (LOB) counterparts. There is agreement, however, that a company's biggest challenge to implementing a cloud platform is ensuring security.

But there's a significant disconnect on the second most important barrier. IT leaders are concerned about integration (46 percent).  In contrast, LOB leaders believe measuring return-on-investment is a more important challenge (37 percent).

"As use of cloud solutions mature, more than half of companies surveyed are shifting from adoption to upgraded services," said Brian Glynn, chief revenue officer of IDG Enterprise. "This opens the door for new and existing solution providers as businesses continue to look for ways to improve agility and innovation while balancing enterprise security and risk."

Cloud service preferences are evolving

Three-quarters of companies are confident that the assets they have placed in the cloud are secure. To help companies have a sense of control, 80 percent have already created, or will create, a governance policy in the next year.

Also, public cloud (60 percent) and private cloud (57 percent) solutions remain the preferred environments compared to hybrid cloud (19 percent). As more workloads move into the cloud, the amount of data stored in private and public clouds will each increase to 25 percent and 21 percent, respectively, in the next 18 months.

Since 2012, cloud investments have increased by 19 percent, with large enterprises spending on average $3.3 million a year, compared to SMBs spending $400,000. Moreover, spending on cloud solutions will account for almost a quarter of IT budgets in the coming year.

Cloud deployment motivation is strategic

Current estimates show that 23 percent of spending on cloud solutions happens outside of the IT department - with marketing, sales and human resources most often investing in solutions.

Besides, even when a cloud solution is purchased by LOB leaders, the IT team can still be involved in the management of the project. And, in instances where IT does not lead the project, 45 percent of the time IT is still called upon to take over the project.

No matter who initiates the move to cloud, one thing will always be certain, CEOs and other senior executives that approve the budget are not enamored by the technology - they have a strategic imperative and they seek a meaningful competitive advantage in the marketplace.